Method to improve profile control during selective etching of silicon nitride spacers

ABSTRACT

Cyclic etch methods comprise the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering a structure on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer, the HFC having a formula CxHyFz where x=2-5, y&gt;z, the HFC being a saturated or unsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC; ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on an etch front; and iii) repeating the steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer on the etch front is selectively removed, thereby forming a substantially vertically straight SiN spacer comprising the SiN layer on the sidewall of the structure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/265,782, filed Feb. 1, 2019, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Disclosed are cyclic atomic layer etch (ALE) methods for spacerpatterning in semiconductor applications. In particular, the disclosedare cyclic ALE processes for forming vertically straight silicon nitride(SiN) spacers using hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases. The disclosed HFCgases have a formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z), where x=2-5, y>z, being saturatedor unsaturated, linear or cyclic, to selectively plasma etch SiN.

BACKGROUND

Continuous downscaling of semiconductor devices brings more and morechallenges to semiconductor fabrication processes. For technology nodebelow 14 nm, one of the most critical steps is a spacer etching. Itrequires a perfect anisotropy etching (no critical dimension (CD) loss)without damaging nor consumption of an exposed material like silicon,and silicon oxide. It is usually done by plasma etching using afluorocarbon-based chemistry. However, with increased aspect ratiosassociated with advanced technology nodes, conventional etchingprocesses no longer allow etch specifications, such as profile control(e.g., footing and surface roughness), damage-free to an underlyinglayer, CD control, etc., to be reached.

In industry, the standard etch process used for SiN etching is a HFCcombined with oxidizer and/or noble gas, for example, CH₃F combined withan oxidizer (e.g. O₂), a noble gas (e.g. Ar or He), and occasionally anadditional F or H containing gas (e.g. CH₄, or CF₄). However, it isdifficult to manage tradeoffs between etch selectivity, profile controland damages to the underlying layer. Previous patents about SiN etchclaimed using different HFCs to selectively etch SiN spacer but noquantifiable information regarding the profile control.

US20130105916A1 to Chang et al. discloses a high selectivity nitrideetch process, which includes an anisotropic etching of SiN_(x) using HFCplasma to form HFC polymers on SiN_(x), SiO₂, and Si of varyingthicknesses. The process is a selective etching of SiN_(x) using a HFChaving a formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=3-6, y>z, saturated orunsaturated, linear or cyclic. But Chang et al. do not disclose anydiscussion about profile control, such as footing control. The etchprocess Chang et al. disclose is not a cyclic process.

US20110068086A1 to Suzuki et al, disclose a plasma etching method onplanar wafers including plasma etching a target using C_(x)H_(y)F_(z),x=3-5, y>z, saturated molecules only, linear or cyclic HFC. Morespecifically, Suzuki et al. discloses selectively etching of SiN_(x) toSiO₂ by utilizing the specific HFC under the plasma conditions on planarwafers rather than a patterned wafer containing semiconductorstructures. As illustrated in the Example, Suzuki et al. used2,2-Difluoro-n-butane to etch SiN planar wafer and SiO planar wafer.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,501,630 or US 20120077347A1 to Metz et al. discloses aplasma etching method for selectively etching a substrate. The plasmaetching process uses a process composition having a process gascontaining C, H and F, and a non-oxygen-containing additive gas. Theprocess gas includes CH₃F, CHF₃, CH₂F₂, or any combination of two ormore thereof. The plasma etching process that Metz et al. disclosed isnot a cyclic process.

US 20010005634 A1 to Kajiwara discloses a dry etching method for forminga contact hole by high selective etching SiN over SiO₂ using CH₂F₂ as anetching gas.

US20130105996 to Brink et al. discloses a low energy etch process fornitrogen-containing dielectric layer included in a stack that includesfrom bottom to top a nitrogen-containing dielectric layer, aninterconnect level dielectric material layer, and a hard mask layerformed on a substrate. The nitrogen-containing dielectric layer wereplasma etched using HFC having C_(x)H_(y)F_(z), x=3-6, y>z. Brink et al.keep salient on selectivity to Si or SiO₂.

US 20140273292A1 to Posseme et al, discloses methods of forming SiNspacers including the steps of depositing a SiN layer atop an exposedsilicon containing layer and an at least partially formed gate stackdisposed atop a substrate; modifying a portion of the SiN layer byexposing the SiN layer to a hydrogen or helium containing plasma that issubstantially free of fluorine; and removing the modified portion of theSiN layer by performing a wet cleaning process to form the SiN spacers.In one embodiment, Posseme et al. discloses the SiN layer was etchedusing a HFC-containing gas such as CH₂F₂, CH₄, CHF₃.

US 20150270140A1 to Gupta et al. discloses atomic layer or cyclic plasmaetching chemistries and processes to etch films including Si, Ti, Ta, W,Al, Pd, Ir, Co, Fe, B, Cu, Ni, Pt, Ru, Mn, Mg, Cr, Au, alloys thereof,oxides thereof, nitrides thereof, and combinations thereof. Examplesinclude Fe and Pd etch using Cl₂ and ethanol (EtOH), Ni, Co, Pd, or Feetch using Cl₂ and acetylacetonate (Acac).

US20160293438A1 to Zhou et al. discloses a cyclic spacer etching processwith improved profile control, but the method is based on NF₃/NH₃plasma, rather than HFC gases.

WO2018/044713 A1 to Sherpa et al. discloses a method of quasi-atomiclayer etching of SiN including the first step of process gas containingH and optionally a noble gas; H₂, or H₂ and Ar; the second step: processgas containing N, F, O, and optionally a noble element NF₃, O₂, and Ar.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,318,343B2 to Ranjan et al. discloses a method to improveetch selectivity during SiN spacer etch that includes a cyclical processof etching and oxidation of a SiN spacer and silicon (such aspolycrystalline silicon) using a process gas containing a HFC gasexpressed as C_(x)H_(y)F_(z), wherein x, y, and z are non-zero. The HFCdisclosed in Renjan et al, is CH₃F. Ranjan et al. are silent about theprofile of the spacers, such as footing and surface roughness of thespacers.

Discovery of new and novel etching components that are applicable toimproving profile control for etching silicon-containing spacers, suchas SiN spacer, is challenging, since their applications to etching thesilicon-containing spacers have to meet the requirements of the etchingprofile, such as less to no footing, less to no fluoride formation, asmooth spacer surface after etching, etc. Thus, there are needs toprovide such etching components to meet these requirements.

SUMMARY

There is disclosed a cyclic etch method comprising the steps of: i)exposing a SiN layer covering structures on a substrate in a reactionchamber to a plasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layerdeposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer,the HFC having a formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z, the HFC beinga saturated or unsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC, ii) exposing thepolymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas,the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on theSiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on etch front andiii) repeating the steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer covered onthe etch front is removed thereby forming vertically straight SiNspacers with the SiN layer covered on the sidewalls of the structures.

There is also disclosed a cyclic etch method for forming verticallystraight SiN spacers, the method comprising the steps of: i) exposing aSiN layer covering structures on a substrate in a reaction chamber to aplasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited onthe SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer, the HFC havinga formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z, the HFC being a saturated orunsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC, ii) exposing the polymer layerdeposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma ofthe inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer andthe modified surface of the SiN layer on etch front and iii) repeatingthe steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer covered on the etch front isremoved thereby forming the vertically straight SiN spacers with the SiNlayer covered on the sidewalls of the structures.

There is also disclosed a cyclic etch method for forming verticallystraight SiN gate spacers, the method comprising the steps of: i)exposing a SiN layer covering gate stacks on a substrate in a reactionchamber to a plasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) selected from the groupconsisting of C₂H₅F and C₃H₇F to form a polymer layer deposited on theSiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer, ii) exposing thepolymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas,the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on theSiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on etch front andiii) repeating the steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer covered onthe etch front is removed thereby forming the vertically straight SiNgate spacers with the SiN layer covered on the sidewalls of the gatestacks.

Either of the disclosed methods may include one or more of the followingaspects:

-   -   further comprising the steps of, after the step of i),        -   pumping the reaction chamber to a vacuum;        -   purging the reaction chamber with N₂;        -   pumping the reaction chamber to the vacuum; and        -   introducing the inert gas into the reaction chamber to            generate the plasma of the inert gas;    -   further comprising the steps of, after the step of ii),        -   pumping the reaction chamber to a vacuum;        -   purging the reaction chamber with N₂;        -   pumping the reaction chamber to the vacuum; and        -   introducing the HFC into the reaction chamber to generate            the plasma of the HFC;    -   exposing the SiN layer to a plasma of a gas mixture of the HFC        and the inert gas;    -   at least a majority of the SiN layer on the sidewall of the gate        stack being not removed;    -   less than 10% of the thickness of the SiN layer on the sidewall        of the gate stack being removed;    -   less than 5% of the thickness of the SiN layer on the sidewall        of the gate stack being removed;    -   less than 1% of the thickness of the SiN layer on the sidewall        of the gate stack being removed:    -   no measurable reduction in the thickness of the SiN layer on the        sidewall of the gate stack being produced;    -   the inert gas being selected from N₂, Ar, Kr or Xe;    -   the inert gas being Ar;    -   the HFC being C₂H₅F;    -   the HFC being C₃H₇F;    -   the substrate comprising a silicon-containing material;    -   the substrate being silicon;    -   the structure being a gate stack;    -   the HFC plasma interacting with SiN to form a C rich polymer        (C:F>1);    -   the C rich polymer being a polymer layer deposited on top of the        SiN layer;    -   the HFC selectively etching the SiN layer over the structures;    -   the HFC selectively etching the SiN layer over the substrate;    -   an infinite selectivity of SiN versus the structures;    -   an infinite selectivity of SiN versus the gate stacks;    -   an infinite selectivity of SiN to p-Si, SiO, SiON and SiCN;    -   an ALE over etch recipe being applied;    -   the ALE over etch recipe ranging from approximately 10% ALE over        etch to approximately 200% ALE over etch;    -   the ALE over etch recipe ranging from approximately 50% ALE over        etch to approximately 200% ALE over etch;    -   introducing the HFC gas into the reaction chamber at a flow rate        ranging from approximately 1 sccm to approximately 10 slm;    -   introducing the HFC gas into the reaction chamber at a flow rate        ranging from approximately 1 sccm to approximately 100 sccm;    -   introducing the inert gas into the reaction chamber at a flow        rate ranging from approximately 1 sccm to approximately 10 slm;    -   introducing the inert gas into the reaction chamber at a flow        rate ranging from approximately 10 sccm to approximately 200        sccm;    -   the reaction chamber having a pressure ranging from        approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 50 Torr;    -   the reaction chamber having a pressure ranging from        approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 10 Torr;    -   the reaction chamber having a pressure ranging from        approximately 300 mTorr to approximately 1 Torr;    -   the substrate temperature in the chamber ranging from        approximately −110° C. to approximately 2000° C.;    -   the substrate temperature in the chamber ranging from        approximately −20° C. to approximately 1000° C.;    -   the substrate temperature in the chamber ranging from        approximately 25° C. to approximately 700° C.;    -   the substrate temperature in the chamber ranging from        approximately 25° C. to approximately 500° C.;    -   the substrate temperature in the chamber ranging from        approximately 25° C. to approximately 50° C.;    -   the reaction chamber wall temperatures ranging from        approximately 25° C. to approximately 100° C.;    -   the plasma process time varying from 0.01 s to 10000 s;    -   the plasma process time varying from 1 s to 30 s;    -   N₂ purge time varying from 1 s to 10000 s;    -   N₂ purge time varying from 10 s to 60 s;    -   less to no footing formed at each corner between the SiN spacer        and the substrate;    -   less to no excess material left proximate the SiN layer and the        substrate;    -   no fluoride residuals left on the vertically straight SiN        spacers and the etch front;    -   surface roughness on the surface of the vertically straight SiN        spacers and the surface of the etch front after the cyclic etch        being improved comparing to those before the cyclic etch;    -   removing the polymer layer being an ion bombardment process;    -   further comprising the step of adding an oxygen-containing gas;        and    -   the oxygen-containing gas being selected from the group        consisting of O₂, O₃, CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, N₂O, SO₂, COS, H₂O and        combination thereof.

There are also disclosed HFC etching gases having a formulaC_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z. The disclosed HFC etching gasesinclude one or more of the following aspects:

-   -   the HFC being a saturated or unsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC;    -   having a purity being greater than approximately 99% by volume;    -   having a purity being greater than approximately 99.9% by        volume;    -   containing less than 1% by volume trace gas impurities;    -   the trace gas impurities comprising water;    -   the trace gas impurities comprising CO₂;    -   the trace gas impurities comprising N₂; and    -   the HFC etching gas having a water content of less than 20 ppmw.

Notation and Nomenclature

The following detailed description and claims utilize a number ofabbreviations, symbols, and terms, which are generally well known in theart, and include:

As used herein, the indefinite article “a” or “an” means one or more.

As used herein, “about” or “around” or “approximately” in the text or ina claim means ±10% of the value stated.

As used herein, “room temperature” in the text or in a claim means fromapproximately 20° C. to approximately 25° C.

The term “wafer” or “patterned wafer” refers to a wafer having a stackof silicon-containing films on a substrate and a patterned hardmasklayer on the stack of silicon-containing films formed for pattern etch.

The term “substrate” refers to a material or materials on which aprocess is conducted. The substrate may refer to a wafer having amaterial or materials on which a process is conducted. The substratesmay be any suitable wafer used in semiconductor, photovoltaic, flatpanel, or LCD-TFT device manufacturing. The substrate may also have oneor more layers of differing materials already deposited upon it from aprevious manufacturing step. For example, the wafers may include siliconlayers (e.g., crystalline, amorphous, porous, etc.), silicon containinglayers (e.g., SiO₂, SiN, SiON, SiCOH, etc.), metal containing layers(e.g., copper, cobalt, ruthenium, tungsten, platinum, palladium, nickel,ruthenium, gold, etc.) or combinations thereof. Furthermore, thesubstrate may be planar or patterned. The substrate may be an organicpatterned photoresist film. The substrate may include layers of oxideswhich are used as dielectric materials in MEMS, 3D NAND, MIM, DRAM, orFeRam device applications (for example, ZrO₂ based materials, HfO₂ basedmaterials, TiO₂ based materials, rare earth oxide based materials,ternary oxide based materials, etc.) or nitride-based films (forexample, TaN, TiN, NbN) that are used as electrodes. One of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that the terms “film” or “layer” usedherein refer to a thickness of some material laid on or spread over asurface and that the surface may be a trench or a line. Throughout thespecification and claims, the wafer and any associated layers thereonare referred to as substrates.

The term “pattern etch” or “patterned etch” refers to etching anon-planar structure, such as a stack of silicon-containing films belowa patterned hardmask layer.

As used herein, the term “etch” or “etching” refers to an isotropicetching process and/or an anisotropic etching process. The isotropicetch process involves a chemical reaction between the etching compoundand the substrate resulting in part of material on the substrate beingremoved. This type of etching process includes chemical dry etching,vapor phase chemical etching, thermal dry etching, or the like. Theisotropic etch process produces a lateral or horizontal etch profile ina substrate. The isotropic etch process produces recesses or horizontalrecesses on a sidewall of a pre-formed aperture in a substrate. Theanisotropic etching process removes material only perpendicular to thesurface of a substrate, which performs accurate transfer of a maskpattern. The dry etching process may be a plasma etching process. Aplasma is any gas in which a significant percentage of the atoms ormolecules are ionized. The plasma may be a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP) generated by a CCP system that essentially consists of two metalelectrodes separated by a small distance, placed in a reactor. A typicalCCP system is driven by a single radio-frequency (RF) power supply. Oneof two electrodes is connected to the power supply, and the other one isgrounded. When an electric field is generated between electrodes, atomsare ionized and release electrons. The electrons in the gas areaccelerated by the RF field and can ionize the gas directly orindirectly by collisions, producing secondary electrons. The plasma mayalso be an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) or transformer coupledplasma (TCP) generated by an ICP system in which the energy is suppliedby electric currents which are produced by electromagnetic induction,that is, by time-varying magnetic fields. The ICP discharges are ofrelatively high electron density, on the order of 10¹⁵ cm⁻³. As aresult, the ICP discharges have wide applications where a high-densityplasma (HDP) is needed. Another benefit of ICP discharges is that theyare relatively free of contamination, because the electrodes arecompletely outside the reaction chamber. The plasma etching processproduces a vertical etch profile in a substrate. The plasma etchingprocess produces vertical apertures, trenches, channel holes, gatetrenches, staircase contacts, capacitor holes, contact holes, etc., inthe substrate.

The term “100% etch” means an ALE process etches a material thoroughlythrough its thickness. The term “over etch” means continuing the ALEprocess even after the material is etched through. For example, in thedisclosed method, if one ALE recipe has etch rate of 1 nm/cycle for SiNlayer and the SiN layer has a thickness of 10 nm, then 10 cycles isneeded to completely etch through 10 nm thick SiN. This means 100% etch.If one sets the etch cycles more than 10 cycles to etch the SiN layer,the ALE is an “over etch”. For example, if one sets 15 etch cycles toetch the SiN layer, the etching process is a 50% over etch. If one sets20 etch cycles to etch the SiN layer, the etching process is 100% overetch.

The term of “deposit” or “deposition” refers to a series of processeswhere materials at atomic or molecular levels are deposited on a wafersurface or on a substrate from a gas state (vapor) to a solid state as athin layer. Chemical reactions are involved in the process, which occurafter creation of a plasma of the reacting gases. The plasma may be aCCP, as described above, generally created by radio frequency (RF)(alternating current (AC)) frequency or direct current (DC) dischargebetween two electrodes, the space between which is filled with thereacting gases. The deposition methods may include atomic layerdeposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

The term “mask” refers to a layer that resists etching. The hardmasklayer may be located above the layer to be etched.

The term “aspect ratio” refers to a ratio of the height of a trench (oraperture) to the width of the trench (or the diameter of the aperture).

The term “selectivity” means the ratio of the etch rate of one materialto the etch rate of another material. The term “selective etch” or“selectively etch” means to etch one material more than anothermaterial, or in other words to have a greater or less than 1:1 etchselectivity between two materials.

Note that herein, the terms “film” and “layer” may be usedinterchangeably. It is understood that a film may correspond to, orrelated to a layer, and that the layer may refer to the film.Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that theterms “film” or “layer” used herein refer to a thickness of somematerial laid on or spread over a surface and that the surface may rangefrom as large as the entire wafer to as small as a trench or a line.

Note that herein, the terms “etching compound” and “etching gas” may beused interchangeably when the etching compound is in a gaseous stateunder room temperature and ambient pressure. It is understood that anetching compound may correspond to, or related to an etching gas, andthat the etching gas may refer to the etching compound.

The standard abbreviations of the elements from the periodic table ofelements are used herein. It should be understood that elements may bereferred to by these abbreviation (e.g., Si refers to silicon, N refersto nitrogen, O refers to oxygen, C refers to carbon, H refers tohydrogen, F refers to fluorine, etc.).

The unique CAS registry numbers (i.e., “CAS”) assigned by the ChemicalAbstract Service are provided to identify the specific moleculesdisclosed.

Please note that the silicon-containing films, such as SiN and SiO, arelisted throughout the specification and claims without reference totheir proper stoichiometry. The silicon-containing films may includepure silicon (Si) layers, such as crystalline Si, poly-silicon (p-Si orpolycrystalline Si), or amorphous silicon; silicon nitride (Si_(k)N_(l))layers; or silicon oxide (Si_(n)O_(m)) layers; or mixtures thereof,wherein k, l, m, and n, inclusively range from 0.1 to 6. Preferably,silicon nitride is Si_(k)N_(l), where k and l each range from 0.5 to1.5. More preferably silicon nitride is Si₃N₄. Herein, SiN in thefollowing description may be used to represent Si_(k)N_(l) containinglayers. Preferably silicon oxide is Si_(n)O_(m), where n ranges from 0.5to 1.5 and m ranges from 1.5 to 3.5. More preferably, silicon oxide isSiO₂. Herein, SiO in the following description may be used to representSi_(n)O_(m) containing layers. The silicon-containing film could also bea silicon oxide based dielectric material such as organic based orsilicon oxide based low-k dielectric materials such as the Black DiamondII or III material by Applied Materials, Inc. with a formula of SiOCH.Silicon-containing film may also include Si_(a)O_(b)N_(c) where a, b, crange from 0.1 to 6. The silicon-containing films may also includedopants, such as B, C, P, As and/or Ge.

Ranges may be expressed herein as from about one particular value,and/or to about another particular value. When such a range isexpressed, it is to be understood that another embodiment is from theone particular value and/or to the other particular value, along withall combinations within said range.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarilymutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term“implementation.”

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the presentinvention, reference should be made to the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich like elements are given the same or analogous reference numbersand wherein:

FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary pattern formedfor producing SiN spacers on an underlying substrate in the art;

FIG. 1b is a cross-sectional side view of exemplary SiN spacers on anunderlying substrate with an ideal etch result of SiN spacers in theart;

FIG. 1c is a cross-sectional side view of exemplary SiN spacers on anunderlying substrate with actual spacer etching processes that producefooting at the bottom of the spacers in the art;

FIG. 2 is a process flow per cycle of the disclosed cyclic ALE process;

FIG. 3 is a graph of etched thickness versus ALE cycles using CH₃F;

FIG. 4 is a graph of etched thickness versus ALE cycles using C₂H₅F;

FIG. 5 is a graph of etched thickness versus ALE cycles using C₃H₇F;

FIG. 6a is EDS mapping of SiN spacers after ALE with 100% etch sidewalland 100% over etch sidewall using C₂H₅F, respectively,—horizontal scanof the sidewall;

FIG. 6b shows EDS line scan using atomic of SiN spacers after ALE with100% etch sidewall and 100% over etch sidewall using C₂H₅F,respectively,—vertical scan of the bottom of the spacer; and

FIG. 7 is continuous etch of SiN Spacers using C₂H₅F: EDS mapping (leftfigure) and EDS line scan (right figure).

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Disclosed are methods to improve profile control for forming siliconnitrile (SiN) spacers on Si-containing substrates with high selectivityin semiconductor applications. The disclosed methods apply a cyclicatomic layer etching (ALE) process using a plasma of a HFC and a plasmaof a noble gas to selectively etch a SiN layer over structures coveredby the SiN layer and/or a underlying Si-containing layer (e.g., asubstrate). Here, the structures may be a gate or a gate stack.

The disclosed methods have significant improved profile controls forforming the SiN spacers. Critical characteristics of the formed SiNspacers include high selectivity of SiN to the underlying Si-containinglayer, such as, poly-Si (or Si), and SiO₂. The critical characteristicsof the formed SiN spacers also include no chemical damage to theunderlying Si-containing layer even when using an over-etch recipe, lessto no excess material proximate the SiN layer and the substrate, less tono footing at the bottom edge of the spacers, no F residuals left on thesidewall of the spacers, etc.

In semiconductor applications, a spacer is a layer of a materialdeposited on a structure, such as a gate or a gate stack, by CVD or ALDto isolate gate contact and source and drain contacts inmetal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Thematerial may be SiN or the like. The spacer passivates sidewalls of thegate stack. The disclosed methods may apply to any types of spacers insemiconductor applications, including gate spacers, patterning spacershaving self-aligned double patterning (SADP) spacers, self-alignedquadruple patterning (SAQP) spacers, etc. Here the gate stack may be adigital switch, random-access memory (RAM), amplifier, field-effecttransistor-based biosensor (BioFET), DNA field-effect transistor(DNAFET), ferroelectric, magnetic, electrolytic, etc. More specifically,the gate stack may be high-k gate stacks including flash memory, such as3D NAND and NOR, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS), strainedinterfaces including global strain and local strain, ferroelectric gatestacks, electrolytic interfaces, etc.

FIG. 1a to FIG. 1c demonstrate exemplary cross-sectional side views ofexemplary SiN spacers formation on an underlying substrate. FIG. 1ashows a trench pattern, but is not limited to, formed for producing SiNspacers. SiN covered structures 10 and 12 were formed on the top of asubstrate 102. A plurality of SiN covered structures may be formed onthe top of the substrate 102, but only two structures 10 and 20 areshown. The substrate 102 may be a FinFET (Fin Field-effect transistor)substrate composed of Si-containing material, such as Si, poly-Si, SiO₂,etc. Numeral 104 represents a layer of SiN layer that covers structures106 on the substrate 102. The structure 106, also called a pillar in theart, may be a gate stack covered by the SiN layer 104. In an idealsituation, the SiN layer that horizontally covers etch front, the top ofstructures 106 or the top of the pillar and the top of substrate 102 orthe bottom of the trench, should be removed and a vertically straightand uniform SiN sidewall on the structures 106 with less to no footingat the bottom corner should be obtained. Here, “a₁” and “a₂” representthe thickness of SiN layer on sidewalls 104 at different heights of thestructure or gate stack. The height of “a₁” may be close to the top ofthe pillar, for example, at the height about ⅓ of the total height ofthe structure 106 below the top of the pillar; “a₂” may be at the heightclose to the substrate 102 at the height about ⅓ of total height of thestructure 106 above the substrate 102. Since the structure 106 under theSiN layer 104 may be curved at the bottom adjacent to the substrate 102(not shown), the value of “a₂” may be less than the value of “a₁” with avertically straight SiN spacer. “b” and “c” represent the thickness ofSiN layer on top of the structures 106 and on top of the substrate 102,respectively. Here “b” and “c” are the thicknesses of etch front.Furthermore, “c” may also represent the thickness of the removal ofsubstrate 102 after removing the SiN layer. In this case, “c” may be anegative value. As shown in FIG. 1b , an ideal SiN spacer etch result ispresented, in which a vertically straight and uniform SiN sidewall 204coverage on the structures 206 is formed and the SiN layer on the etchfront that horizontally covers the top of structures 206 and the top ofsubstrate 202 are removed. However, actual spacer etching processesoften have excess material left proximate the SiN layer and thesubstrate, producing footing 308 at the bottom of the spacers, as shownin FIG. 1c . Here the horizontal length of the footing 308 adjacent tothe substrate 302, “d”, is defined to represent the size of the footing.

The disclosed cyclic ALE processes for controlling etch profile of SiNspacers formed on Si-containing substrates overcome the shortages offooting when manufacturing the SiN spacers. The disclosed cyclic ALEprocesses for controlling etch profile of SiN spacers formed onSi-containing substrates also produce vertically straight spacerswithout tapering when manufacturing the SiN spacers. The disclosedcyclic ALE processes comprises a surface modification step or adeposition step and a surface removal step or an etching step in one ALEcycle. During the surface modification step, a thin layer of polymer isdeposited on the surface of the SiN layer that modifies the surface ofthe SiN layer (see FIG. 1a , SiN layer 104) in a reaction chamber. Thethin layer of polymer is formed by a plasma of a HFC gas or a plasma ofa gas mixture of a HFC gas and an inert gas, such as N₂, Ar, Kr, Xe,preferably Ar. The HFC gas reacts with the material SiN on the surfaceof the SiN layer, forming the thin layer of polymer which is a C richpolymer (C:F>1) and also called a modified surface layer on the surfaceof the SiN layer where chemical bonds are formed at an interlayerbetween the thin layer of polymer and the surface of the SiN layer. Atthe surface removal step, the modified surface layer is etched orremoved by a pure inert gas (e.g., Ar) plasma through energetic ionbombardment to sputter the modified surface layer, which are highlyvolatile and may be pumped out from the chamber. After the surfaceremoval step, the surface modification step is repeated, forming acyclic ALE process. With the cyclic ALE, an ALE over etch recipe may beapplied to further remove the SiN layer on the etch front with aninfinite selectivity of SiN versus the structures or the gate stacks.The ALE over etch recipe may range from approximately 10% ALE over etchto approximately 200% ALE over etch, preferably, from approximately 50%ALE over etch to approximately 200% ALE over etch. These processes maybe cyclized and enable step-by-step removal of materials, whichincreases pattern fidelity and minimizes a footing of SiN spacer.Between the surface modification step and the surface removal step orafter the deposition step and the etching step, a N₂ purge step isapplied. The N₂ purge step includes a vacuum pump step to pump the HFCgas out of the reaction chamber before the N₂ purge step and a vacuumpump step to pump N₂ out of the reaction chamber after N₂ purge step.

An ideal cyclic ALE process is based on self-limiting reactions, whichmeans the reactants only react with the available surface sites on thesubstrate while keep the bottom layer intact. ALE process conditions maybe optimized by tracking the self-limiting nature regarding the reactantflow rates and exposure time. A constant purge of N₂ was used at the endof each step to eliminate the excessive etchant from the system to avoidany synergistic reactions.

Referring to FIG. 2, in one cycle of the disclosed ALE process, a plasmaetching gas formed from a gas mixture of a HFC gas and Ar deposits athin layer of polymer on the surface of the SiN layer in a reactionchamber in Step 1. The thin layer of polymer is then etched or removedby a pure inert gas (e.g., Ar) plasma in Step 2. After each Step, thereaction chamber experiences a pump/N₂ purge/pump process, whichincludes pumping the reaction chamber to a vacuum, filling N₂ into thereaction chamber for purging and pumping the reaction chamber to avacuum again before proceeding the next Step.

The disclosed cyclic ALE methods may include using the HFC gases, havinga formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z, being saturated orunsaturated, linear or cyclic, to selectively plasma etch SiN. The HFCplasma interacts with SiN forming C rich polymer (C:F>1) which depositson top of the SiN layer forming a polymer layer. The disclosed HFC gasesmay be used to mix with an inert gas in a plasma chamber to selectivelyetch the polymer layer and a single atomic layer of the SiN layer aswell. Thus, the SiN spacers are formed with improved profile control,such as high selectivity, minimized footing, limited fluorine formationand smooth surface of the SiN spacers. The inert gas may be Ar, Kr andXe. Preferably, Ar.

The disclosed HFC gases for forming the polymer layer on the SiN layermay include the following HFC gases, i.e., fluoroethane C₂H₅F (CAS#353-36-6) and 1-fluoropropane C₃H₇F (CAS #460-13-9). These HFC gasesare used to mix with an inert in a plasma chamber to deposit a polymerlayer on the SiN layer. An interlayer between the polymer layer and theSiN layer is formed to modify the surface of the SiN layer. A plasma ofan inert gas, such as, Ar, is then selectively removes the polymer layerand the interlayer as well. This is equivalent to remove a single atomiclayer of the SiN layer. In this way, the SiN spacers are formed withimproved profile control, such as high selectivity, minimized footing,limited fluorine formation and smooth surface of the SiN spacers. Theinert gas may be Ar, Kr and Xe, preferably, Ar.

The disclosed HFC gases are provided at greater than 99% v/v purity,preferably at greater than 99.9% v/v purity, by removing key impuritiesN₂, CO_(x), SO_(x), H₂O, etc.

The disclosed HFC gases contain less than 1% by volume trace gasimpurities, with less than 150 ppm by volume of impurity gases, such asN₂ and/or H₂O and/or CO₂, contained in said trace gaseous impurities.Preferably, the water content in the plasma etching gas is less than 20ppmw by weight. The purified product may be produced by distillationand/or passing the gas or liquid through a suitable adsorbent, such as a4 Å molecular sieve.

The disclosed cyclic ALE methods includes providing a plasma processingchamber having a substrate disposed therein. The plasma processingchamber may be any enclosure or chamber within a device in which etchingmethods take place such as, and without limitation, any chambers orenclosures used for plasma etching, such as, reactive ion etching (RIE),capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) with single or multiple frequency RFsources, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), electron cyclotron resonance(ECR), microwave plasma reactors, remote plasma reactors, pulsed plasmareactors, or other types of etching systems capable of selectivelyremoving a portion of the silicon-containing film or generating activespecies. Preferred chamber is a CCP chamber.

One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the differentplasma reaction chamber designs provide different electron temperaturecontrol. Suitable commercially available plasma reaction chambersinclude but are not limited to the Applied Materials magneticallyenhanced reactive ion etcher sold under the trademark eMAX™ or the LamResearch Dual CCP reactive ion etcher dielectric etch product familysold under the trademark 2300® Flex™. The RF power in such may be pulsedto control plasma properties and thereby improving the etch performance(selectivity and damage) further.

An oxygen-containing gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber inorder to eliminate high polymer deposition or reduce the thickness ofthe high polymer deposition. The oxygen-containing gas include, withoutlimitation, oxidizers such as, O₂, O₃, CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, N₂O, SO₂, COS,H₂O and combinations thereof. It is known that addition of oxygen oroxygen containing gases to the plasma chemistry increases F/C ratio ofplasma species and reduces polymer formation (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No.6,387,287 to Hung et al.). The disclosed HFC gas and the oxygencontaining gas may be mixed together prior to introducing into thereaction chamber.

Alternatively, the oxygen-containing gas is introduced continuously intothe chamber and the disclosed HFC gas introduced into the chamber inpulses. The oxygen-containing gas comprise between approximately 0.01%by volume to approximately 99.99% by volume of the mixture introducedinto the chamber.

In the disclosed cyclic ALE methods, the plasma process time may varyfrom 0.01 s to 10000 s. Preferably from 1 s to 30 s. N₂ purge time mayvary from 1 s to 10000 s. Preferably 10 s to 60 s.

The temperature and the pressure within the reaction chamber are held atconditions suitable for the silicon-containing film to react with theactivated etching gas. For instance, the pressure in the chamber may beheld between approximately 1 mTorr and approximately 50 Torr, preferablybetween approximately 1 mTorr and approximately 10 Torr, more preferablybetween approximately 300 mTorr and approximately 1 Torr, as required bythe etching parameters. Likewise, the substrate temperature in thechamber may range between approximately −110° C. to approximately 2000°C., preferably between approximately −70° C. to approximately 1500° C.,more preferably between approximately −20° C. to approximately 1000° C.,even more preferably between approximately 25° C. to approximately 700°C., even more preferably between approximately 25° C. to approximately500° C., and even more preferably between approximately 25° C. toapproximately 50° C. Chamber wall temperatures may range fromapproximately 25° C. to approximately 100° C. depending on the processrequirements.

In one embodiment, the disclosed HFC gas is introduced into the reactionchamber containing the substrate having structures, such as gate stacks,formed thereon with a covered SiN layer. The gas may be introduced tothe chamber at a flow rate ranging from approximately 1 sccm toapproximately 10 slm. Preferably 1 sccm to 100 sccm. The inert gas maybe introduced to the chamber at a flow rate ranging from approximately 1sccm to approximately 10 slm. Preferably 10 sccm to 200 sccm. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that the flow rate may varyfrom tool to tool.

The disclosed cyclic etch methods further comprise the steps of i)positioning a patterned substrate on a substrate holder in a plasmaprocessing chamber or a reaction chamber, the patterned substrate havinga SiN layer covering at least one structure on a substrate, here thestructure may be a gate stack; the substrate may contain Si-containinglayer(s), ii) introducing a HFC gas or a mixture of a HFC gas and aninert gas into the reaction chamber to generate a plasma therein, oncethe plasma is generated, the plasma depositing a polymer layer on theSiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer, the HFC gas havinga formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z, being a saturated orunsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC, the inert gas being N₂, Ar, Kr, Xe,preferably Ar; iii) pumping the HFC gas or the mixture of the HFC gasand the inert gas out of the reaction chamber until the reaction chamberreaches to a high vacuum; iv) purging the reaction chamber with N₂; v)pumping the reaction chamber to the high vacuum again; that is, pumpingN₂ out of the reaction chamber until the reaction chamber reaches to thehigh vacuum; vi) introducing the inert gas into the reaction chamber togenerate a plasma of an inert gas; vii) exposing the polymer layerdeposited on the SiN layer to the plasma of the inert gas, the plasma ofthe inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer onan etch front and the modified surface of the SiN layer on the etchfront through ion bombardment; vii) pumping the reaction chamber to thehigh vacuum; that is, pumping the inert gas out of the reaction chamberuntil the reaction chamber reaches to the high vacuum; viii) purging thereaction chamber with N₂; ix) pumping the reaction chamber to the highvacuum; and x) repeating the steps of ii) to ix) until the SiN layer onthe etch front is selectively removed, thereby forming a substantiallyvertically straight SiN spacer comprising the SiN layer on the sidewallof the gate stack. Here an over etch recipe may be applied, for example,from 50% over etch to 200% over etch may be applied.

In an ideal case, the ion bombardment process only removes the polymerlayer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on the etch front, thatis, the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on the topof the pillar and the bottom of the trench, and remains the SiN layer onthe sidewall not changed. In reality, the thickness of the SiN layer onthe sidewall might slightly change, due to small deviations and/or astructure having a curved bottom. The disclosed cyclic etch methodsprovide that at least a majority of the SiN layer on the sidewall of thegate stack is not removed. Preferably, less than 10% of a thickness ofthe SiN layer on the sidewall of the gate stack is removed, especiallythe SiN layer close to the bottom of the structure. More preferably,less than 5% of the thickness of the SiN layer on the sidewall of thegate stack is removed. Even more probably, less than 1% of the thicknessof the SiN layer on the sidewall of the gate stack is removed. Even morepreferably, no measurable reduction in the thickness of the SiN layer onthe sidewall of the gate stack is produced.

Compared with conventional SiN spacer etch processes, the disclosedcyclic ALE process using the disclosed HFC gases herein may reduce theSiN footing at the bottom edge of the spacers by more than 70%, from theexamples that follow, while maintaining chemical integrity, withoutcausing significant surface roughness or chemical contamination (e.g., Fresidue) on underlying materials. More specifically, with a cyclic ALEprocess using C₂H₅F, no fluoride residuals produced on the bottom of thetrench and sidewall. Here, no fluoride residuals mean less thanapproximately 0.05% fluoride residuals left on the bottom of the trenchand the sidewall, preferably, less than 0.03%. The disclosed cyclic ALEprocess using the disclosed HFC gases also produces a smooth surface ofSiN spacers.

EXAMPLES

The following non-limiting examples are provided to further illustrateembodiments of the invention. However, the examples are not intended tobe all inclusive and are not intended to limit the scope of theinventions described herein.

The following examples were conducted with a CCP plasma chamber withvariable conditions for each step. Plasma power, pressure, gas flowrate, reaction time and so on were very well controlled. The pressurerange was from 300 mtorr to 1 Torr. The temperature range was from 25°C. to 50° C. The gas flow rates for CH₃F or C₂H₅F or C₃H₇F varied from 1sccm to 10 sccm. The flow rates for noble gas varied from 10 sccm to 200sccm. The noble gas used was Ar. The RF plasma power ranged from 50 W to100 W. Plasma process time or reaction time varied from 1 s to 30 s. N₂purge time varied from 10 s to 60 s. Desired purity of CH₃F or C₂H₅F orC₃H₇F was >99.9% by removing key impurities such as N₂, CON,C_(x)H_(y)F_(z), SO_(x), H₂O etc.

The samples used in the following examples were patterned spacer wafersas shown in FIG. 1a , in which the substrate was a Si substrate.

Ellisometer was J.A. Woollam Co. M-2000. SEM (scanning electronmicroscope) to image the patterned structure was JOEL JSM-7500 SEM. XPSto characterize the surface was Kratos XPS—Supra Model. AFM (atomicforce microscope) to examine the surface was Park NX10 AFM. TEM(transmission electron microscope) to image the patterned structure wasdone with a FEI Tecnai Osiris FEG/TEM operated at 200 kV in bright-field(BF) TEM mode and high-resolution (HR) TEM mode. EDS (electronicdiffusion spectra) were acquired on Bruker Quantax EDS system.

Example 1 CH₃F Cyclic ALE Process

The CH₃F cyclic ALE process was conducted under optimized ALEconditions. Referring to FIG. 2, the etching gas was CH₃F. Thedeposition step (Step 1) with CH₃F was performed with RF power 75 W,pressure 300 mTorr, Ar gas flow rate 100 sccm, CH₃F flow rate 5 sccm andreaction time for the deposition step was 4 seconds. The removal step(Step 2) was performed with RF power 50 W, pressure 500 mTorr, Ar gasflow rate 100 sccm, no CH₃F and reaction time 30 seconds. The time forthe pump/N₂ purge/pump process between Step 1 and Step 2 and vice versa,was 90 seconds, FIG. 3 shows etched thickness versus ALE cycles forCH₃F. With the increase of the ALE cycles, SiN etched thickness isgetting deeper, the selectivity of SiN to p-Si, SiO and SiON is gettinghigher, and the selectivity of SiN to SiCN may remain not change. Theetched thickness of SiN per cycle using CH₃F with various ALE cycles islisted in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Etched thickness of SiN per cycle with various ALE cycles ALEcycles 15 30 45 60 Etched thickness per cycle (nm) CH₃F 4.9 4.5 4.2 4.7C₂H₅F 1.49 1.47 1.36 1.37 C₃H₇F 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.4

Example 2 C₂H₅F Cyclic ALE Process

The C₂H₅F cyclic ALE process was conducted under optimized ALEconditions. Referring to FIG. 2, the etching gas was C₂H₅F. Thedeposition step (Step 1) with C₂H₅F was performed with RF power 75 W,pressure 300 mTorr, Ar gas flow rate 100 sccm, C₂H₅F flow rate 5 sccmand reaction time for the deposition step was 4 seconds. The removalstep (Step 2) was performed with RF power 50 W, pressure 500 mTorr, Argas flow rate 100 sccm, no C₂H₅F and reaction time 35 seconds. The timefor the pump/N₂ purge/pump process between Step 1 and Step 2 and viceversa, was 90 seconds. FIG. 4 shows etched thickness versus ALE cyclesfor C₂H₅F. With the increase of the ALE cycles, SiN etched thicknessincreases linearly and no etching to p-Si, SiO, SiON and SiCN occurs.The results of the C₂H₅F cyclic ALE process shows a very highselectivity of SiN to p-Si, SiO, SiON and SiCN, almost an infiniteselectivity.

Comparing to the cyclic ALE process using CH₃F, C₂H₅F gas shows higheretch selectivity of SiN to p-Si, SiO, SiON and SiCN and lower etch rate,such that less etched amount per cycle was obtained. The etchedthickness of SiN per cycle using C₂H₅F with various ALE cycles is listedin Table 1.

Example 3 C₃H₇F Cyclic ALE Process

The C₃H₇F cyclic ALE process was conducted under optimized ALEconditions. Referring to FIG. 2, the etching gas was C₃H₇F. Thedeposition step (Step 1) with C₃H₇F was performed with RF power 75 W,pressure 300 mTorr, Ar gas flow rate 100 sccm, C₃H₇F flow rate 5 sccmand reaction time for the deposition step was 4 seconds. The removalstep (Step 2) was performed with RF power 50 W, pressure 500 mTorr, Argas flow rate 100 sccm, no C₃H₇F and reaction time 40 seconds. The timefor the pump/N₂ purge/pump process between Step 1 and Step 2 and viceversa, was 150 seconds. FIG. 5 shows etched thickness versus ALE cyclesfor C₃H₇F. Etched thickness amount was increased linearly with number ofALE cycles, with an etch rate of 2.0-2.4 nm/cycle. An infinite etchselectivity of SiN over other material may also be obtained underoptimized conditions. The etched thickness of SiN per cycle using C₃H₇Fwith various ALE cycles is listed in Table 1.

Example 4 SEM of SiN Spacer Patterned Wafer Cyclic ALE Using CH₃F andC₂H₅F

Referring to FIG. 1a , the dimensions of the SiN spacer patterned waferbefore etch are as follows: “a” is 34 nm; “b” is 34 nm; and “c” is 34nm. The substrate 102 is a Si substrate. Key factors concerned afteretching are damage to the Si substrate, sidewall deposition, footing atthe corner between the spacer and the substrate, fluoride residues onthe SiN layer and the substrate or etch front, surface roughness of theSiN layer and the substrate or etch front, etc. Table 2 lists thethicknesses of the etch front after the cyclic ALE of the SiN spacerwith CH₃F and C₂H₅F with various cyclic ALE modes, such as 50% etch,100% etch, 100% over etch and 200% over etch. It is noticed that ALE100% etch and ALE 100% over etch with C₂H₅F provided optimized results,which demonstrate less to no footing formed at the bottom of thespacers.

TABLE 2 SEM results with CH₃F and C₂H₅F with various cyclic ALE modes.Cyclic ALE mode b (nm) c (nm) CH₃F 50% etch 20  13.1 100% etch 0 to 5 0100% over etch 0 −14.1 200% over etch 0 −26.7 to −27.7 C₂H₅F 50% etch17.8 to 18.3 16.4 100% etch 0-5 0 100% over etch 0 −3.75 to −4.22 200%over etch 0 −14.1

Example 5 TEM of SiN Spacer Patterned Wafer Cyclic ALE Using C₂H₅F

ALE 100% etch and 100% over etch with C₂H₅F shown in Example 4 werefurther tested with TEM.

Referring to FIG. 1a , the dimensions of the SiN spacer patterned waferbefore etch are as follows: “a” is 34 nm; “b” is 34 nm; and “c” is 34nm. The substrate 102 is a Si substrate. TEM-ready samples were preparedusing the in situ focused ion beam (FIB) lift out technique on an FEIStrata 400 Dual Beam FIB/SEM. The samples were capped with protectivecarbon and e-Pt/I-Pt prior to milling. The TEM lamella thickness was˜100 nm. The samples were imaged with a FEI Tecnai Osiris FEG/TEMoperated at 200 kV in bright-field (BF) TEM mode and high-resolution(HR) TEM mode. The TEM results of cyclic ALE using C₂H₅F are listed inTable 3.

With ALE-100% etch, no over etch occurred, SiN on the top of the pillarwas not completely etched, the left (L) and right (R) thicknesses (“a₂”,about ⅓ of the total height of the gate stack close to the substrate) ofthe SiN layer on the sidewall are 32.6 and 32.3 nm, respectively, andthe left and right footings (“d”) were 6.6 nm and 8.2 nm. Thethicknesses (“a₂”) of the SiN layer on the sidewall reduced about 5%. Incontrast, with ALE-100% over etch, SiN on the top of the pillar wascompletely etched, the left and right thicknesses (“a₂”) of the SiNlayer on the sidewall are 30.4 and 31.1 nm, respectively, and the leftand right footings were 6.0 nm and 3.9 nm. The thicknesses (“a₂”) of theSiN layer on the sidewall reduced about 9.5%. Thus, less than 10% of athickness of the SiN layer on the sidewall of the gate stack is removed.The reduction of the thickness (a₂) of the SiN layer on the sidewall maybe due to the curvature of the structure or the gate stack adjacent tothe substrate that makes the inner side of the SiN layer adjacent to thestructure or gate stack curved. The reduction of the thickness (a₂) ofthe SiN layer on the sidewall may also be due to small deviations.

Si recess refers to the amount of thickness of the Si substrate wasetched. The Si recess was measured 10 nm away from the bottom edge ofSiN sidewall toward left and right directions. With ALE-100% etch, noover etch occurred, and the left and right Si recesses were 1.446 nm and1.285 nm, respectively. In contrast, with ALE-100% over etch, the leftand right Si recesses were 4.096 nm and 4.194 nm, respectively.

Surface roughness of SiN spacer after ALE with 100% etch and 100% overetch using C₂H₅F includes the surface roughness of the top of the pillar(T) and the surface roughness of the bottom of the trench (B). Table 3also includes the surface roughness results. With ALE 100% etch, a 2-3atomic layer level (a.l.) of SiN layer was still left on the top of thepillar (positive value), meaning the SiN layer on the top of the pillarwas not completely removed. In this case, the interface between SiNlayer and the top of the pillar was smooth and flat, which equivalentsto the surface roughness without etching. The bottom of the trenchetched with ALE-100% etch also shows 2-3 atomic layer level of SiN layerleft on the bottom of the trench. With ALE-100% over etch, the top ofthe pillar and the bottom of the trench were all etched a 2-3 atomiclayer level (negative value).

TABLE 3 TEM results with C₂H₅F with different cyclic ALE modes “a₂” (nm)“d” (nm) Si recess (nm) surface roughness (a.i.) ALE mode L R L R L R TB 100% etch 32.6 32.3 6.6 8.2 1.446 1.285 2 to 3 2 to 3 100% over etch30.4 31.1 6 3.9 4.096 4.194 −2 to −3 −2 to −3

Example 6 EDS of SiN Spacer Patterned Wafer Cyclic ALE Using C₂H₅F

FIG. 6a shows EDS mapping of SiN spacer after ALE with 100% etchsidewall and 100% over etch sidewall using C₂H₅F,respectively,—horizontal scan of the sidewall. With 100% etch, no overetch occurred and no F residual on the sidewall. With 100% over etch, noF residual on the sidewall either.

FIG. 6b shows EDS line scan using atomic of SiN spacer after the cyclicALE with 100% etch sidewall and 100% over etch sidewall using C₂H₅F,respectively,—vertical scan of the bottom of the spacer. With 100% etch,no F residual on the sidewall. With 100% over etch, no F residual on thesidewall either.

Example 7 Cyclic ALE vs Continuous Etch Using C₂H₅F

Table 4 is a comparison of continuous etch and cyclic ALE. The resultsshow with continuous etch process, Si recess was 2.9 nm; polymer layerwas formed on the sidewall; and the footing was 16.2 nm at the leftcorner and 15.3 at the right corner. Whereas, with the cyclic ALEprocess, the results show that Si recess was 4.1 to 4.2 nm; theminimized polymer layer was formed on the sidewall; and the footing was6.0 nm at left and 3.9 nm was formed at right. Comparing to thecontinuous etch, the cyclic ALE process reduces the footingapproximately 75%. Thus, with the cyclic ALE process, the Si recess andsurface roughness are all getting improved and less to no footings areformed comparing to those with continuous etch process using C₂H₅F toetch SiN Spacer. Here, less to no footing may be defined by “d”approximately 6 nm.

TABLE 4 Comparison of continuous etch and cyclic ALE Si Etch Left “d”Right “d” recess Polymer layer mode (nm) (nm) (nm) on sidewallContinuous 16.2 15.3 2.9 yes etch ALE 100% 6 3.9 4.1 to 4.2 minimizedover etch

FIG. 7 shows continuous etch of SiN Spacer using C₂H₅F: EDS mapping(left figure) and EDS line scan (right figure). Clearly, with continuousetch, F residues existed on the sidewall (around 22 to 36 nm) and thebottom of the trench (around 36 to 58 nm). Whereas, F residues were notshown in FIG. 6a and FIG. 6 b.

Table 5. lists the measured percentage of fluoride residues remained onthe bottom of the trench and the sidewall after cyclic ALE andcontinuous etch, respectively. The cyclic ALE process modes have almostno fluoride left on the bottom of the trench and sidewall, whereas, thecontinuous etch method produced the fluoride residues on the bottom ofthe trench and sidewall.

Thus, the cyclic ALE process modes with C₂H₅F produce no fluorideresidues and reduced etchant residuals on the surface of etch front andsidewall. The cyclic ALE process modes with C₂H₅F produce minimized SiNfootings and less to no damage to the top of SiN spacer.

TABLE 5 Fluoride Residues ALE 100% ALE 100% Continuous etch over etchetch Bottom 0.03% 0.018% 3.35% of trench Sidewall 0.021% 0.014% 7.26%

Example 8 Surface Roughness Using C₂H₅F to Cyclic ALE SiN Planar Wafer

Surface roughness—RMS of a thin film of SiN on a planar wafer wasmeasured by AFM before and after cyclic ALE with C₂H₅F. Before thecyclic ALE with C₂H₅F, RMS (Root Mean Square)=2.9 nm. After the cyclicALE with C₂H₅F, RMS=1.1 nm. Thus, a smaller RMS was achieved after thecyclic ALE with C₂H₅F, which shows an improved surface smoothing effectof the ALE with C₂H₅F.

In summary, the disclosed cyclic ALE of SiN spacer using the disclosedHFCs, such as, C₂H₅F, C₃H₇F, may minimize SiN footings (e.g., reducingthe footing approximately 75% comparing to the continuous etch), produceno F residues on the top of the pillar, the bottom of the trench and thesidewall, no chemical contamination and no degradation of surfaceroughness after cyclic ALE processes. The disclosed cyclic ALE of SiNspacer using the disclosed HFCs, such as, C₂H₅F, C₃H₇F, improves etchingprofile control for etching SiN spacers formed on Si-containingsubstrates in semiconductor applications with high selectivity.

It will be understood that many additional changes in the details,materials, steps, and arrangement of parts, which have been hereindescribed and illustrated in order to explain the nature of theinvention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principleand scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Thus,the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specificembodiments in the examples given above and/or the attached drawings.

While embodiments of this invention have been shown and described,modifications thereof may be made by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit or teaching of this invention. The embodimentsdescribed herein are exemplary only and not limiting. Many variationsand modifications of the composition and method are possible and withinthe scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection is notlimited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by theclaims which follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents ofthe subject matter of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cyclic etch method, the method comprising the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering structures on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer, the HFC having a formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z, the HFC being a saturated or unsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC; ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on etch front; and iii) repeating the steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer covered on the etch front is removed thereby forming vertical straight SiN spacers with the SiN layer covered on the sidewalls of the structures, wherein a pressure in the reaction chamber ranges from approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 1 Torr.
 2. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of, after the step of i), pumping the reaction chamber to a vacuum; purging the reaction chamber with Ar; pumping the reaction chamber to the vacuum; and introducing the inert gas into the reaction chamber to generate the plasma of the inert gas.
 3. The cyclic etch method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of, after the step of ii), pumping the reaction chamber to a vacuum; purging the reaction chamber with Ar; pumping the reaction chamber to the vacuum; and introducing the HFC into the reaction chamber to generate the plasma of the HFC.
 4. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, wherein a single or multiple RF sources are applied to generate the plasma of the HFC in the step of i) and to generate the plasma of the inert gas in the step of ii), respectively.
 5. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, wherein a single RF source is applied to generate the plasma of the HFC in the step of i) and multiple RF sources are applied to generate the plasma of the inert gas in the step of ii), and vice versa.
 6. The cyclic ALE method of claim 1, wherein the inert gas is Ar.
 7. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, wherein the HFC is C₂H₅F or C₃H₇F.
 8. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, wherein the HFC selectively etches the SiN layer over the structures.
 9. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, wherein less to no footings are formed at each corner between the vertical straight SiN spacer and the substrate.
 10. The cyclic etch method of claim 1, wherein no fluoride residuals are left on the vertical straight SiN spacers and the etch front.
 11. A cyclic etch method for forming vertical straight SiN spacers, the method comprising the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering structures on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer, the HFC having a formula C_(x)H_(y)F_(z) where x=2-5, y>z, the HFC being a saturated or unsaturated, linear or cyclic HFC; ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on the etch front; and iii) repeating the steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer covered on the etch front is removed thereby forming the vertical straight SiN spacers with the SiN layer covered on the sidewalls of the structures, wherein a pressure in the reaction chamber ranges from approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 1 Torr.
 12. The cyclic etch method of claim 11, wherein a single or multiple RF sources are applied to generate the plasma of the HFC in the step of i) and to generate the plasma of the inert gas in the step of ii), respectively.
 13. The cyclic etch method of claim 11, wherein a single RF source is applied to generate the plasma of the HFC in the step of i) and multiple RF sources are applied to generate the plasma of the inert gas in the step of ii), and vice versa.
 14. The cyclic etch method of claim 11, wherein the HFC is C₂H₅F or C₃H₇F.
 15. The cyclic etch method of claim 11, wherein the HFC selectively etches the SiN layer over the structures.
 16. The cyclic etch method of claim 11, wherein less to no footings are formed at each corner between the vertical straight SiN spacer and the substrate.
 17. A cyclic etch method for forming vertical straight SiN gate spacers, the method comprising the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering gate stacks on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) selected from the group consisting of C₂H₅F and C₃H₇F to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer; ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to Ar plasma, the Ar plasma removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on etch front; and iii) repeating the steps of i) and ii) until the SiN layer covered on the etch front is removed thereby forming the vertical straight SiN gate spacers with the SiN layer covered on the sidewalls of the gate stacks, wherein a pressure in the reaction chamber ranges from approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 1 Torr.
 18. The cyclic etch method of claim 17, wherein a single or multiple RF sources are applied to generate the plasma of the HFC in the step of i) and to generate the Ar plasma in the step of ii), respectively.
 19. The cyclic etch method of claim 18, wherein a single RF source is applied to generate the plasma of the HFC in the step of i) and multiple RF sources are applied to generate the Ar plasma in the step of ii), and vice versa.
 20. The cyclic etch method of claim 18, wherein less to no footings are formed at each corner between the SiN gate spacer and the substrate. 